Patagonia to donate 100% of Black Friday sales to green charities

Reacting in possible disgust to the victory of Donald J Trump in the US presidential election, American outdoor clothing company Patagonia will donate 100 per cent of its Black Friday sales proceeds to grassroots climate change charities.

The California-based enterprise says it will hand over cash to organisations working in local communities to protect ''our air, water and soil for future generations''.

Black Friday is an American commercial craze that has also crept into the UK. The day after Thanksgiving, it sees shops slash their prices.

Patagonia chief executive Rose Marcario said, ''During a difficult and divisive time, we felt it was important to go further and connect more of our customers, who love wild places, with those who are fighting tirelessly to protect them.

''This we know: if we don't act boldly, severe changes in climate, water and air pollution, extinction of species and erosion of topsoil are certain outcomes.''

Marcarioa explained in a company blog post that the retailer would give the money to grassroots environmental groups that are ''working in local communities to protect our air, water and soil for future generations''.

''These are small groups, often underfunded and under the radar, who work on the front lines,'' she wrote. ''The support we can give is more important now than ever.''

Donations will include sales made from both the retailer's website and global stores and are estimated to raise over $2 million, Corley Kenna, the global director and communications and public relations at Patagonia, told Fortune magazine in an email. This is the first time the company has ever done something like this, according to Kenna.

Inspiration for the charitable act came ''following the election'', Kenna added.

''The idea emerged from a brainstorming session as the company considered how to respond to the outcome of the presidential election as a way to keep climate changes and issues affecting our air, water and soil top of mind,'' she said. ''We felt it was important to go further and connect more of our customers, who love wild places, with those fighting tirelessly to protect them.''

It may be a Black Friday first for Patagonia, but the company already donates 1 per cent of its daily sales to grassroots environmental organizations, according to Marcario - an amount which totals $74 million to date.

''The threats facing our planet affect people of every political stripe, of every demographic, in every part of the country. We all stand to benefit from a healthy environment - and our children and grandchildren do, too,'' Marcario wrote.